Triumph In The Midst Of Tragedy

TRIUMPH IN THE MIDST OF TRAGEDY

Psalm 3:1-8

- In Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 King Solomon said:

To everything there is a season,

A time for every purpose under heaven:

A time to be born,

And a time to die;

A time to plant,

And a time to pluck what is planted;

A time to kill,

And a time to heal;

A time to break down,

And a time to build up;

A time to weep,

And a time to laugh;

A time to mourn,

And a time to dance;

A time to cast away stones,

And a time to gather stones;

A time to embrace,

And a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to gain,

And a time to lose;

A time to keep,

And a time to throw away;

A time to tear,

And a time to sew;

A time to keep silence,

And a time to speak;

A time to love,

And a time to hate;

A time of war,

And a time of peace.

Solomon makes it clear that in this life there will be good times and there will be bad times. In our selected text, Solomon’s Father, King David reveals that there will be times of trouble. He also shows us that if we belong to God there is always a time to trust in our Heavenly Father. And in this Psalm of praise we see that when God sees fit we will experience a time of triumph. I would like to examine this Psalm that was penned in the midst of great tragedy and preach on the subject, “Triumph In The Midst Of Tragedy”

Christians are not exempt from troubles, turmoil and tragedy. Jesus tells us that the Father “makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:45). Job said, “Man who is born of woman Is of few days and full of trouble. He comes forth like a flower and fades away; He flees like a shadow and does not continue. (Job 14:1-2)

Psalm 3 finds King David at a time in his life when he faced immense trouble. There are many ways in which we cannot relate to King David, but when it comes to enduring troubles and tragedy we know exactly what he is talking about. Look with me to verses 1-2 as we examine:

I. A TIME OF TROUBLE

There are countless examples of troubles that we could consider today. Many of you may be experiencing your own personal tragedy as we speak. Though there are many circumstances and situations that we may endure in this life, one of the worst is when you are attacked by an adversary.

- Verse 1 shows us that:

A. YOUR ADVERSARIES MAY ATTACK YOU

v1 LORD, how are they increased that trouble me! many are they that rise up against me.

There are many of the Psalms where we do not know the author or the details surrounding its writing. That is not the case in this Psalm, for the inscription reads that this is "A Psalm of David when he fled from Absalom his son." At this point in time, David is running from one of his adversaries. To make matters worse, this specific adversary was his own son Absalom.

David had experienced a great deal of tragedy in the last few years of his life. Much of the turmoil was the result of his own with Bathsheba. David's son Ammon raped his half-sister Tamar (II Samuel 13:6-14). As a result of this, David's son Absalom plotted the murder of Ammon (2 Samuel 13:24-29). After having his brother killed, Absalom flees to Geshur where he remained for a period of 3 years (2 Samuel 13:34- 39).Then Joab arranged for Absalom to return to Jerusalem where he remained for 2 more years without seeing the King’s face (2 Samuel 14:21-24). In time, Absalom sent for Joab in order for him to mediate a meeting between himself & King David. Joab refused to come so Absalom sent his servants to set Joab’s barley field on fire. Joab then came and took Absalom to his Father.

After a while it became Absalom’s desire to be appointed a judge in Israel. He stationed himself at the gate and began to intercept all who came to the King for judgment. In the process “Absalom stole the hearts of Israel." (II Samuel 15:6). In time Absalom deviously set out to steal the kingdom from his father. This evil plot is recorded in: 2 Samuel 15:10-14, “Then Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, “As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then you shall say, ‘Absalom reigns in Hebron!’ ” And with Absalom went two hundred men invited from Jerusalem, and they went along innocently and did not know anything. Then Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, from his city—from Giloh—while he offered sacrifices. And the conspiracy grew strong, for the people with Absalom continually increased in number. Now a messenger came to David, saying, “The hearts of the men of Israel are with Absalom.” So David said to all his servants who were with him at Jerusalem, “Arise, and let us flee, or we shall not escape from Absalom. Make haste to depart, lest he overtake us suddenly and bring disaster upon us, and strike the city with the edge of the sword.”